A toy I've been wanting for a long time...

I finally decided it was time to spend a little extra money and get a good portrait lens for my camera... up until now I have only had the lens I got with my camera. I know practice makes perfect, but here are a few of my unpracticed favorites so far....

Good News

So I went to see my midwife today and we received good news. Yes, the baby has turned. :) And, here is the real surprise, I'm already dilated to a 1. At 35.5 weeks, that may not seem like much to some of you.... but at 41 weeks with Eva, I still hadn't made it that far. So here is to signs that maybe this delivery won't be quite as long and exhausting... That surely is good news. The only bad news was that apparently I'm not supposed to be traveling long distances from hospitals at this point, so I don't think I'll be accompanying Weston on our second house hunting trip to Logan this coming Thursday. Now I don't think I'll be having a baby any time in the next week... but really, does a stuffed whale need to go against doctors orders and try to beach herself. As my Dad would say, I think a long day of driving, two long days of house hunting, and then another long day of driving, all while taking care of my favorite toddler - all of this, at eight months pregnant, would qualify as "cruisin' for a bruisin'" So I'm disappointed though. Weston will have to go without us and will have to be gone for Eva's 2nd birthday and likely Halloween. We will miss him. But we do hope he finds a wonderful home for us, just like he did when I was pregnant with Eva and he had to fly out here to Great Falls alone to go house hunting...

So here are a few picts - one, so you can track my growth, which I think is at least mildly impressive - and two, so you can see the pumpkin we carved last night. Eva was at first a little scared of the lit up pumpkin, but then she thought the "flower" inside was very interesting. And well, who can disagree.... "flower" is very interesting...

Memories of Summer

Today it is snowing, and because most of the leaves are already down, the bare branches of the trees seen through falling snow feels like real winter. So when I downloaded pictures of the recently past summer just today, well, I fell to reminiscing. Here are a few of the pictures, so you can reminisce with me, if you feel like it....

I think about my life. This summer was busy, spent getting our home ready for sale, planting and tending a garden, making new flower beds, playing with Eva, being pregnant, and resting from it all and I have to say it was delightful. We may have only gotten to go camping three or four times and home to Utah only once. We didn't see anything terribly new, backpack into Montana wilderness... I only got to use my fly rod once... but still, content I was. Sunshine I got. And I just love my little family. I think to myself, can these golden days last. Well, the last four years have been golden - but not always easy. So maybe the answer is yes, so long as I always have my little family. Here's to the sunshine of summer, even in the winter. May it last long.





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Spin baby, spin

When I was pregnant with Eva, our doctor told us a cesarean was eminent if she didn't turn head down soon. We went to an acupuncturist, did moxibustion sticks, and I tilted till red in the face, literally. And we prayed a lot. At 37 weeks she finally turned. I give full credit to our the last resource named. Well, here we go again. The little lady currently in my womb is following suit. She wiggles more than Eva ever did, and for about two weeks she was head down. But alas, for a little more than a week, she has positioned her head near my heart and appears to be happy this way. See the baby in the picture. She is smiling. That is my baby.

Well sweet babe with only 6ish weeks to go, all I have to say is spin my darling, spin. And may the force be with you, all such good and merciful forces that might bring your little head downward... downward... downward.

Trying to solve color problem by testing online with an old photo...

For Lindsey

Lindsey requested I post a picture of myself for size comparison purposes... since she did have a doctor's appointment today... maybe she is holding a baby and is smaller by now... if not... here you go.

This one was taken last night by Weston. He said I was just trying to look big by putting my hands around my tummy. I said I would only be trying to look big if I were actually sticking my tummy out, which I was not.


However, generally I don't look quite that big, I don't think, because when you move around you use your tummy muscles and it holds a little in. So here is a picture like that.


Now, when Eva sits on my tummy, it does hide it's largeness pretty well. You should'a seen me WITHOUT the swimsuit coverup.



So all these pictures were taken at 26.5 weeks. Just so you can all remember where I'm headed in my largeness, here is a picture of me pregnant with Eva at 40.5 weeks. Wow - I do get big. But I wonder why we think getting big while pregnant is so bad. Perhaps we should glory more in our abdominal vuluptuousness. After all being bigger than other ladies only means it takes longer to get back to normal size (at least in my case) and that you are more uncomfortable while pregnant... geesh... what's the big deal!! no pun intended... :)

Eva's Favorite Place

Naked and in the water she's happiest. Aren't we all. That is, after all, how we started out....

News

IT'S A GIRL!!!! And as far as we can tell, she is just adorable - runs in the family... :)

How She Loves Her Daddy

Eva loves her Daddy, as the pictures from the last post can attest. Here are a few stories to show further evidence.

Weston has to spend a lot of time in the basement, working on getting it finished. This dismays Eva a great deal, because she is not allowed in the construction zone, except under constant supervision. So she spends a lot of time at the top of the stairs calling for Papa. She has recently started yelling "kiss, kiss..." or "hug, hug...". It is a clever tactic. Who can resist such a request?

Last week Weston had to be gone overnight for work. This distresses Eva - something especially evident by the next day, when she asks for me with great frequency. The desktop on our computer is currently a family picture. She saw this picture after having missed her Daddy for over a day, and immediately asked for a hug, arms spread out wide. So I lifted her up to the computer screen and she gave her Papa a solid kiss on the face and hugged the screen with all her might. Nearly brought a tear to my eye.

More hugs were required just yesterday, as Weston left the house, just for an hour or so - but without Eva. She went to the door, crying, and again asked for "hugs" and then spread her arms wide and hugged the door. If this is not love, what is?

A few weeks ago I went to Rexburg, ID without Weston. Eva and I left on Friday and didn't get back until Monday evening. She talked to Weston on the phone Saturday and all she could say was "miss you"... and kiss the phone. Needless to say, she didn't want to leave his side for several days after we got home. It's a good thing it was the 4th of July weekend, and he was around a lot. We have recently decided that Weston should take Eva with him everywhere that he can. It is so cute. But never fear, she still wants me when she has an oowie! :)



Eva and her Papa singing "Popcorn Popping" together.

My Favorite Little Girl....

Just a few pictures of my sweetie. And, if you're wondering... yes, she does love her Daddy.






Just a few pictures of my sweetie. And, if you're wondering... yes, she does love her Daddy.

What all the Fuss is about

What is all the smiling about?







What are all the fancy outfits celebrating? (mind you, each of these was completely Eva's idea)





What is she looking forward to?



What is all the fuss about?



Well, let me tell you about it....



I got to meet it about five weeks ago, but just this Monday we talked again.... all it said was "lub-dub" about 160 times per minute. Mom and Dad seemed pretty excited about it. They said I should be happy about it too because come the end of November/beginning of December I won't have to ride in the back by myself any more. So it's all pretty good news.... I am worried about Mom though. She says she has a baby growing in her stomach.... :)

Second Hand Store Find

Several months ago we found this great highchair/childs desk with chair at Bill's Second Hand Store, a wonderful little place, a building painted bright pink, just down the road. I think the pink is meant to make a lasting impression, and it works. Anyway, this desk folds up from how you see it here to be a highchair and has a tray. Eva loves it and so do I. She has even learned to climb in, though getting out is still a somewhat dangerous affair.

And do please notice the braids. Weston said it must be the best day of my life to be able to put braids in Eva's hair. Well, it is not the BEST, but it may be close!!!